


No, no I don't think I will

by Amethyst_Elf



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Closure, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fix-It, Moving On, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:34:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25598137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethyst_Elf/pseuds/Amethyst_Elf
Summary: All 6 infinity stones have been returned, but Steve Rogers has one more stop to make.Aka: my take on the ending of Endgame.
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	No, no I don't think I will

"Going quantum in 3, 2, 1."

That was the last thing Steve Rogers heard before being sucked down through the quantum realm and back in time. He returned the stones to their rightful places but still had the most important stop to make.

The suit retracted from around him and he stepped out into the setting Los Angeles sun. He'd checked the SHIELD records before leaving, and he new where exactly he had to go. The streets were relatively empty, most people either working or in their homes with their families, so there was nothing stopping Steve as he set off at a brisk pace.

42 Magnolia Avenue didn't look like much, a sky blue bungalow with white trim, but knocking on the front door felt like he was waiting to enter the White House. A tall man with neatly combed black hair answered the door, a look of recognition passing quickly over his face before being replaced with something else.

"Hi, I'm looking for Peggy Carter. Does she live here?" Steve asked, having rehearsed this one line in his head for a while.

The other man shook himself out of his stupor and adjusted his grip on his crutch before replying. "Oh, yes she does. She's out at the moment but she should be back soon."

"I'm Daniel, Daniel Sousa."

"I'm pretty sure you know who I am, but hello, I'm Steve Rogers."

Daniel's brow furrowed and he didn't move from his place at the door, before Steve reached into his pocket and pulled out a compass, his compass, with a picture of Peggy inside.

"It is really me Mr Sousa, and I know you have no reason to believe me but could I come in?" Steve asked, placing it back in his pocket.

"Of course," he replied, shuffling to the side to allow him to enter. "Living room's just down the hall and to the left. Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

"A coffee would be great if you don't mind."

Steve walked down the hall and into the living room, scanning the room with a smile on his face. It was very homely: two plush armchairs (with a hand-knit blanket lain across the arm of one) and a nice sofa around a coffee table, a small side cabinet with a vase of flowers on and a multitude of pictures. The pictures continued onto the mantelpiece, to the left of which was a door leading off into an office, which Steve knew for certain was Peggy's.

His gaze wandered the photos littering the room. Some were obviously more professional photos, which were strategically placed around the back, while others were more personal. There were a few of Peggy and Howard, many of her and another brunette, one or two with a spectacled red headed woman or a blonde man and of course many of Daniel and Peggy. Steve reached for the nearest photo, depicting a smiling Peggy and Daniel stood on the front porch of their home.

Daniel, returning with two steaming mugs of coffee, looked over the blonde's shoulder at the photograph he was holding and smiled at the memory. "When we moved in together, Mr Jarvis insisted we take a photo to "remember this momentous occasion" I think were his exact words. Peg didn't really understand what the fuss was about, it was quite the scene really."

Steve let out a chuckle and took his mug from Daniel, before moving to sit in an armchair while Sousa took the adjacent couch. 

"First things first Mr Sousa, I want to apologize for intruding into your home. Now, this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but please hear me out."

"I'm listening, and please, call me Daniel."

Steve took a breath, and began. "As you can see, I'm alive. Some scientists found me frozen in a chunk of ice and defrosted me, waking me up. These scientists, however, aren't due to find me for about 60 years."

Daniel paused with his mug halfway raised, blinked twice and brought it back down again. 

"So.. you're from the future?"

A nod from Steve.

"And you came back to.. see Peggy?"

"Well that was part of the reason. The other reason was I actually wanted to meet you, Daniel. In the future, I found Peggy when she was old and she mentioned you a lot, so when I had the chance to travel back and properly see the both of you, I had to take it."

"I understand, if I'd been frozen for ages and had the chance to come say goodbye to Peg, I'd take it any day of the week," Daniel said, nodding. "What I don't understand is why you'd want to meet me."

"Well, she told me stories of a man she met in New York who she fell in love with, but never mentioned you by name. No matter how much digging I did, I found nothing. So I wanted to meet the man who made Peggy happier than ever and honestly say thank you. She loves you very much and you're going to have a wonderful life together."

Daniel sat still for a moment before turning to Steve with a sad look etched upon his features. "Never in a million years did I ever think I had a chance with Peggy. I thought I'd really screwed up after accusing her of treason."

Steve choked on his coffee.

"I know it sounds a bit harsh. Scratch that a lot harsh, but Stark was in a pretty sticky situation with being accused of selling weapons to the Russians and all, and she was helping clear his name. I figured out she was working with him and I was so confused that I just channeled that confusion into anger and told our Chief. One of the biggest mistakes of my life without a doubt."

"Anyway, while we were working on the Stark case, me and this guy Krzeminski were working the night shift. Peggy came up in the conversation and out of the blue he asked if I'd fallen for her, and yes, yes I had. So he not so politely told me to give up."

Daniel sighed before continuing, "He said, "no girl's gonna trade a red, white and blue shield for an aluminium crutch."

"Well he seems like a horrible person. Does Peggy know?" Steve replied.

"She doesn't actually. I feel like if I told her, she'd find where they buried him, dig him up and berate his corpse on being a decent human being."

The two men both burst out laughing at this, Steve recovering first and added, "That's a crazy, but albeit very Peggy, thing to do."

"But in all seriousness Daniel, Peggy fell for me back when I was a scrawny nobody from Brooklyn with a strong moral compass. Then she found you, and frankly I'd consider a crutch and a missing leg an improvement. Anyone who doesn't see you as a capable, good man is blind."

"Thanks Steve. That means an unbelievable amount coming from you."

An hour and a half later, the unmistakable sound of the front door being opened rang through the house.

"Daniel, I'm home!" Peggy's voice called from the hall. "I had to take the long way back from the Jarvis' to shake a tail."

"Alright Peg, we're in the living room!" Daniel replied, turning to face the door.

"We? Oh good lord who is it? If it's Thompson tell him he'd better be gone before I get in there. I am not in the mood to deal with his nonsense."

"No it's uh, it's hard to explain. Better if you just come in and see for yourself."

The familiar British agent rounded the corner, expecting to be met with Angie or another of her friends, not the supposedly dead man who sat there instead.

In an instant she'd set the toddler she was carrying down on a chair and had a gun in her hand. "Who the bloody bootlaces are you and why do you have Steve Rogers' face?"

"Nice to see you too Peg," Steve replied, again pulling out his compass. "Stork club, eight on the dot."

"No. No, Steve Rogers is dead. He died when that plane went down eight years ago," she stated firmly, her gun held in a vice grip.

"I know it sounds crazy Peggy, but it really is me. I'm from the future."

"The future?"

"Yes the future."

"But how did you survive the crash?" she asked, picking up her daughter and moving to sit next to Daniel, keeping her gun next to her just in case.

"Honestly? I have no idea. It probably had something to do with the serum protecting me to some extent but I don't really know for sure. Some scientists found me frozen in a cube of ice and defrosted me. After that I just sort of... woke up I guess."

"If it makes any difference I believe him," added Daniel, looking up from his daughter, who was babbling contentedly on his lap.

"You do? Oh well that settles it then!" Peggy replied sarcastically.

"Seriously Peg, if Steve wanted to harm me in any way he most likely would have done so already. He's been here for nearly two hours anyway."

"And you didn't think to call me at any point?"

Nothing came from Daniel for a moment before he feebly waved his free hand. "Surprise?"

At this she lightly slapped her husband on the arm.

"What are you actually doing here Steve?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Well, our last fight came with a cost, and we had to use time travel to make things right. The things we used had to be returned at the exact moment we took them from, otherwise there would be catastrophic consequences. I was tasked with returning them, and I decided to come and say goodbye properly after the job was done."

Peggy observed him with a thoughtful expression for a moment. "Are you happy in the future?"

Steve contemplated that for a moment. His time with the avengers flashing through his mind.

"Yes I am," Steve replied firmly. "I've made some good friends, although we're no strangers to loss."

At that moment, the toddler sat on Daniel's good knee let out a squeal of "Dada" as she tugged at his sleeve, drawing the attention of all three adults. Peggy looked over at Steve, catching a glimpse of the wistful smile that crossed his face.

"Steve?" she said, pulling him out of his thoughts, and gaining a hum in response. "Would you like to hold her?"

Steve shifted his gaze to Daniel, who nodded his assent, and Steve replied with a yes. Peggy gently lifted the child from Daniel's knee and crossed the small gap between their seats.

The toddler, obviously confused at the situation, tilted her head to the side as she stared at Steve with her big brown eyes.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Ruth Maria," Daniel replied, his eyes not leaving their daughter.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Steve said, wiggling his fingers at the baby as a little wave.

He flipped his arm over to check his watch, and then chuckled. "Was just about to check the time and I forgot the jump absolutely fried it."

He picked Ruth up with one arm and nimbly passed her back to Daniel. "If you don't want to, that's fine, but I was wondering if we could have that dance now?"

"Of course Steve," she replied before Daniel walked over to the radio and increased the volume slightly.

Steve extended his arm, and Peggy placed her hand in his as a new song began to play. They danced to the beat, and from over Steve's shoulder, Peggy could see Daniel swaying along with Ruth nodding off snuggled close to his chest. They danced for a minute or two, and when the songs ending notes rang out, Steve stepped back and reached into his pocket, fishing around for his compass.

"Here," he said, as Daniel switched off the radio and rejoined them next to the couch. "I want you to have this. I don't think I have much use for it anymore, technology has kinda gotten crazy in the last couple years."

"More crazy than Stark's inventions?" Daniel asked, drawing a laugh from the other two.

"I mean, there haven't been any more super soldiers, but there's this whole hidden country that's got some pretty crazy things going on."

"How on earth do you hide an entire country?!" Peggy exclaimed.

"Exactly!" Steve replied, smiling. "They've got this huge invisible force field or something that keeps them hidden. It really is crazy."

Peggy took the compass from Steve, and placed it on the mantelpiece, next to the photo of pre-serum Steve already placed proudly there. He walked a couple of paces away from the couple and pressed a button to make his suit expand around him.

"I guess this is goodbye then."

Peggy strode over and enveloped him in a hug, an unusual sentiment from her. She released him and stepped back, wiping a loose tear from her eye.

He turned to Daniel, sticking out his hand to shake. Daniel promptly ignored the hand and also leaned in for a hug.

After Daniel stepped back, Steve grinned at him. "You take care of Peggy, alright Daniel? She's stubborn as they come and reckless to boot, so don't let her do anything too stupid."

"Yes captain," Daniel replied, raising his hand in a mock salute.

"Excuse me? Reckless?"

"Yes, reckless and ill-advised Peg," Daniel answered immediately, smirking.

A blush burned through her face and she slapped him gently on the arm again, barely containing her grin.

Steve looked down for a moment, pressing more buttons on his suit and he felt the familiar tug of it preparing him for the jump into the quantum realm.

"Goodbye Steve," Peggy said as she snaked an arm around Daniel's waist, laying her head on his shoulder.

Steve smiled at the happy family before he collapsed into himself and disappeared into thin air.

He whizzed through the mess that was the quantum realm for mere seconds before he was ejected out into the future.. right in the middle of the coffee table in Stark's cabin.

Little Morgan screamed and would have fallen off the couch if Pepper hadn't caught her and Bucky elbowed Sam in the gut from jumping out of his seat so fast.

Everything was silent for a second before Sam, still wheezing for air, quipped, "I found Cap everyone."

"Sorry I'm late guys, I took a little detour."

Bucky, still standing, stared at Steve incredulously. "I didn't think you'd come back."

"Of course I'd come back Buck. This is my home now, and you guys are my family. I just had to say goodbye."

Steve spotted a pizza sat on the table, inches away from his foot, and grabbed a slice, stepping down.

Sam spoke up as Steve bit down into the pizza. "So you gonna tell us where you were?"

Steve sat down and crossed one leg over the other. "No, no I don't think I will."


End file.
